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Maple Butternut Apple Casserole with Quinoa

Happy Wednesday!

It is day 3 gluten-free and I can’t say that I notice any big differences, but I don’t really expect to yet. I get impatient with many things and want immediate results, but I have to remember to be patient. I had the same breakfast of eggs and my green smoothie this morning, quinoa with Sriracha for lunch, and am going to have the recipe in today’s post as dinner. All my snacks have been gluten free as well. I will keep you informed…

I have had a butternut squash for awhile now that I needed to make but couldn’t decide on a recipe. Last night I just picked the most appealing and went with it. I didn’t want to make a soup because it was already 830 pm when I started, so I settled on one from (big surprise) Oh She Glows. I changed some things around and it turned out really well. I know it is delicious in it’s original form since everything I’ve made from her site is, so you can find the original recipe here.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place squash in microwave and heat for 3 minutes to soften. Peel and chop into 1″ cubes. Place in a large bowl and add sunflower seeds.

Cook quinoa. It cooks the same way as rice and for easier convenience, throw it in a rice cooker so you don’t have to concentrate on it.

In a small bowl, combine melted Earth Balance, garam masala, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and 1 Tbsp of maple syrup. Pour this into the bowl with the squash and mix thoroughly so the cubes are coated. Transfer to a medium sized casserole dish.

Cover dish with foil and cook for 20 min.

While the squash is cooking, cube the apples and place into another bowl. Add the apple cider vinegar and 2 Tbsp maple syrup and mix well.

After 20 min, remove the casserole dish and add the apple mixture (including any liquid) and the quinoa. Stir, cover again, and cook for 10 more minutes.

After the 10 min, remove the foil and cook uncovered for another 45 min (or until the squash is fully cooked), stirring approx every 10 min to make sure everything is thoroughly mixed.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I am not the biggest fan of squash that I have to labor over. Give me a delicata or kabocha where I can just eat the skin and I am good to go. I still have acorn squash to make this season and I don’t think I have ever made it now that I think about it. I keep seeing such cute little pictures of stuffed acorn squash so maybe I will give that a try.

This meal was very warm and comforting and perfect for fall. It reminded me of Thanksgiving so of course Neil asked me where the turkey was about 20 times during our meal. I don’t think his mind understands meals with no meat.

A new grocery store, The Fresh Market, just opened this morning and I am excited to check it out! I am not sure if I can get there today, but definitely look for a post about it in the coming week. I hope everyone has a great Wednesday!!